Joey E Ploofhttps://joeyeploof.com
For the Glory of God. For the Good of OthersMon, 16 Oct 2017 22:05:51 +0000enhourly1http://wordpress.com/https://s2.wp.com/i/buttonw-com.pngJoey E Ploofhttps://joeyeploof.com
The Life of The Motherhttps://joeyeploof.com/2017/01/25/the-life-of-the-mother/
https://joeyeploof.com/2017/01/25/the-life-of-the-mother/#respondWed, 25 Jan 2017 18:24:40 +0000http://joeyeploof.com/?p=805]]>The Illogical Objection

Before I begin, I want to answer an objection that will inevitably come. This article is going to touch on several specific aspects of a specific argument for legalized abortion. Because I am a man, meaning that that I affirm the male gender I was “assigned” at birth and have all of the accompanying biology that comes along with it, and am incapable of carrying and birthing a child it may be said that I can not or should not express an opinion on the subject.

Let’s look at some facts that put the lie to this argument:

Scientific Fact: A child can not be produced without genetic material from both a male of the species and a female of the species, therefore the male is equally responsible for the life or death of the child

Philosophical Fact: Truth is not owned only by those who are engaged with it at the moment. In other words, that you are the one we’ve determined has the legal right to decide to kill that child doesn’t mean I can’t speak to the situation

Fact Fact: Your offense doesn’t make me incorrect

So the objection is ridiculous on its face. It’s an obvious attempt to shut down opposition when the opposition is saying something that can’t be intellectually refuted. Trouble is it’s being used as the mantra of the modern “women’s” movement.

The Ordinary Argument

On the pro-life/ anti-abortion side the most extreme argument is that abortion destroys a living human and therefore is immoral in all circumstances, thus it should be illegal in all circumstances. Advocators of this position might also argue that all who participate in the abortion(the mother, doctor, etc.) should be prosecuted. To call this position extreme is not to put it down. I’m simply placing it on one end of a continuum.

The other end of the continuum will be the extreme of the pro-choice/ pro-abortion side. This one is more difficult to nail down. You’d have to say, however, that the position advocated in an article in the Journal of Medical Ethics in 2012 by Australian philosophers Alberto Giubilini and Francesca Minerva is the most extreme. Their article entitled, After-birth abortion: why should the baby live?, as the title implies advocates for the permissibility of killing a newborn in every circumstance where aborting a fetus would be legal.

I could find no good statistics on how many pro-choice advocates would agree with the legalization of post-birth abortion, but I would guess it is vanishingly small. Please understand, I only expose it to illustrate the extreme. A much more mainstream view would be what is termed as abortion-on-demand, a legal framework where women are allowed to obtain an abortion under any circumstance all the way up until the moment of birth.

Anti-Pro-Life

So when the pro-lifer makes the statement that all abortions are immoral the immediate push back is usually to ask about three very specific circumstances. These are incest, rape, and the life of the mother. I may address the rape and incest circumstances in a future article, but for now I want to narrow the focus to the life of the mother.

This is the one circumstance that can lead to an abortion decision by a mother who actually wanted to have the baby that will be killed. The implication of challenging the pro-lifer in this way is to say that if it can be agreed upon that the moral choice is to save the mother and lose the child then perhaps there are other circumstances where abortion is not immoral. It’s a short move, in there mind, from there to saying no abortions are immoral.

When I was young the question occurred to me that there could be a situation where a father might have to make a choice to let his wife die in order to save his child, or the child die to save his wife. I asked my mother what decision she would have me make were I ever to be in that position and her answer and logic were bracing to me at the time. She said without hesitation that I should save the wife and lose the child, because the wife and I would already have a life together and could potentially have another child. I never forgot that because, at the time it seemed crass in a way I didn’t think my mother was capable of.

No Moral Choice

What my mother knew then, but didn’t explain, is that sometimes there’s simply no right answer to a moral question. Were my wife and I to find ourselves in a situation where that ghastly choice had to be made I know now that I would make my mother’s choice according to her exact logic. I could not, however, believe I had made a right moral choice. Either choice would lead to the death of a human who did not deserve to die, a human I would give my life to save. God alone could hold me together after having to make the choice and God alone could hold our marriage together after that horrendous choice. Either choice ought to draw the ire of the one who was saved.

About now if you’re not a believer in Jesus Christ you might be stunned in some ways at my admission. You might be thinking that this in some ways defeats the moral arguments that so many christians make to explain how God and the world works. You couldn’t be more wrong. Sadly, the existence of circumstances where there are only immoral choices fits neatly into the biblical worldview.

You see, one man and one woman made a choice to put their will above God’s in a garden long ago and it broke the world. One analogy would be to say that it introduced a bug into the software of humanity and this sent shockwaves through the rest of creation setting everything off balance. This doesn’t go far enough, however, because we are not merely malfunctioning machines that need to be fixed. On a cosmic scale we’re more like an out of control train barreling down the tracks damaging vehicles and structures all along the way.

One of the consequences, I would submit to you, of a whole universe out of balance is that somethings can not be put right by us. We broke it, but we can’t fix it.

The Good News

Less than one percent of abortions occur for the reason of saving the life of the mother. Praise God for the medical advancements that make birth so much safer than it was even just 70+ years ago! But, this is not the circumstance worldwide. We absolutely need to support communities of doctors who are focused on bringing the training and technology to the third world and beyond that would make losing a baby at birth a rare thing.

The second bit of good news is this, we are living in historic times in terms of rolling back the legalization of murdering babies in the womb. The political situation is ripe for change, but so is the spiritual. We who are on the side of life and the dignity and value of all bearers of the image of God must begin to come together and push forward in love for those who have been taken in by the lies of the pro-choice movement. Stand up, speak out, share the gospel, save moms and babies.

]]>https://joeyeploof.com/2017/01/25/the-life-of-the-mother/feed/02559609667_c38b7c5a75_bjoeyploofWhy You Should Not Hate Prosperity Preachershttps://joeyeploof.com/2017/01/10/why-you-should-not-hate-prosperity-preachers/
https://joeyeploof.com/2017/01/10/why-you-should-not-hate-prosperity-preachers/#respondTue, 10 Jan 2017 16:25:58 +0000http://joeyeploof.com/?p=729]]>TV preaching and I were born and grew up around the same time, the eighties and nineties. Kenneth Copeland started in 1979. Jimmy Swaggart started his Telecast in 1975, but he really came to prominence in the early 80s when it began to be broadcast by 3000 stations and cable systems. The most epic examples of success and failure within the prosperity movement, Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, started a television network (Trinity Broadcasting Network, TBN) and lost their ministries in astonishing fashion during my first decade of life. And who could forget Benny Hinn. Pardon me for saying so, but something within me knew he was a fraud from the first moment ever I saw him. He is quite the showman, though.

These all blazed the trail upon which people like Creflo Dollar (the most aptly named of all the prosperity preachers), Paula White, and Rod Parsley would tread in the nineties and beyond. Whenever any of these are publicly embroiled in controversy money will be at the heart of it. Their ministries bring in untold amounts of money. They live, many of them, lavish lifestyles, jet setting all over the world. Creflo Dollar’s ministry specifically drew the ire of the general public in 2015 when they tried to crowdfund their way to a $65 million private jet.

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. 1 Timothy 6:10 ESV (emphasis mine)

Money itself is not the problem. What they’re preaching is, and they’re preaching just enough right that you might miss the wrong they’re adding in and the essential Gospel they’re leaving out.So don’t hate them because they’re wealthy. Wealth in itself is not an evil.

Idolatry is what the prosperity preachers sell. When you say that God has no legal claim over this world and that He needs your permission to act, as Myles Munroe once said to Benny Hinn on his show. Then you translate that into a doctrine of men and women being little gods, via messages from Creflo Dollar, and Kenneth Copeland (“When I read in the Bible where he [Jesus] says, ‘I Am,’ I just smile and say, ‘Yes, I Am, too!'”). Finally, you set up a doctrine of promises of wealth and health within the scriptures that ignores the context of those “promises” and every trial suffered by those whom God used to write the “promises”. What you end up with are Christians who, at least functionally, believe that God serves them and that they are the creators and controllers if their world. Even this is no reason to hate them.

My message was always going to be that there is no reason to hate the prosperity preachers. You may have seen that coming.

I’m not saying don’t despise their doctrines. I’m not saying don’t call out them and the falsehoods they would lead our brothers and sisters to believe.

I’m also not saying stay in their church, continue to give them money, or feel free to watch their programs. We ought not hate, but God has no such prohibition on His conduct.

There are six things that the LORD hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers” Proverbs 6:16-19 ESV (emphasis mine)

What we ought to do, dear reader, is pray for the false teachers, witness to our friends and family that have been taken in by them, and study ever more to be sure we can discern the difference.

]]>https://joeyeploof.com/2017/01/10/why-you-should-not-hate-prosperity-preachers/feed/060377840joeyploofLaunch Dayhttps://joeyeploof.com/2017/01/02/launch-day/
https://joeyeploof.com/2017/01/02/launch-day/#respondMon, 02 Jan 2017 17:00:18 +0000http://joeyeploof.com/?p=689]]>Today, January 2, 2017, is the day that the first article publishes on my new site:

When you click the link above it’ll take you directly to the very first article, and if you look on the right you’ll see the email subscription link. If you fill out that form you’ll updates about all our most recent articles plus a ton of resources like links to podcasts and youtube videos that will help you go deeper in your knowledge and Christian walk. It’ll all be in one bi-monthly newsletter (so we’re not going to harass you with multiple weekly emails).

This site has been preparation for what the Lord is going to do through us in the coming years, so if you’ve received any benefit at all from it please click through the link above, read the article, and sign up for the newsletter.

Thank You in advance and Thank you for two great years!

]]>https://joeyeploof.com/2017/01/02/launch-day/feed/0logo3joeyploofWhat’s Next?https://joeyeploof.com/2016/12/14/whats-next/
https://joeyeploof.com/2016/12/14/whats-next/#respondWed, 14 Dec 2016 15:25:11 +0000http://joeyeploof.com/?p=643]]>A couple of weeks ago on my Facebook page I gave a brief announcement of what my next project is. Here’s what it said, for those that haven’t already read it,

Dear Friends,
It’s been almost a month since I published an article, and I likely will not post another this year.
Over the course of the next month I’m going to be giving you the details of my next project. It’s been in my mind for a couple of years but I’ve been working in earnest on launching it for the last few months.
This project makes good on something I promised was coming way back at the end of 2015. Insurgent Apologetic Ministries is it’s name and it will be a multimedia, multi-platform ministry to try to bring a robust and reasoned defense of the Christian faith to regular people like you and me.
I can’t wait to tell you more, and I will soon.
Until then, God Bless.

The next step in the process of revealing the details of this new project to you is to give you a glimpse into our principles in creating all of the content that we will be bringing to you. First, there’ll be a subtle change in language you may notice. When I write here I use “I” and “me” a lot in describing the voice from which the words are the page are coming. In I<AM's (Insurgent Apologetics Ministries') content and resources we will use plural pronouns for a number of reasons. One reason has to do with having others involved on the back end helping to produce the content. Regardless of whether or not my name is on most of it for a while I won't be the only person involved in producing it. Proverbs 11:14 says, in part, "in an abundance of counselors there is safety." and I want there to be a multitude of voices present throughout the process of bringing you resources. Eventually I want to even have a number of different authors on the front end as well.

But the most important reason for the change in approach is that I want the culture of this ministry to be one where the users of the resources and consumers of the content participate as "owners" and not just readers, listeners, or watchers. The way we're going to do that is to bring you content that not just educational but aspirational, not just demonstrably useful but applicable to your life. Then we're going to ask you a lot of questions to elicit your feedback. We're not just going to come alongside you and give you some ways to show Christ to others you may not have ever thought of before, but we're going to challenge you to come alongside us and help us sharpen those very resources so that we can jointly reach many more than we ever could separately.

Articles will publish twice weekly on Mondays and Wednesdays and we'll follow a format where we share articles in series. For example, the Thursday articles for the first several weeks will open up the scriptures and expose to you some of the most important apologetic passages. On this site I've already given you from information about the Apostle Paul's interactions with the elite thinkers of his day at Mars' Hill. you'll see that article with new information added, plus many more.

Also, I am frantically learning about and searching for help from people who know anything at all about Podcasting. Podcasts are simply downloadable audio files that you can listen to on your computer or mobile device. Would you get more out of listening to someone give you the resources to help you grow in the this area of your walk with God rather than reading them? Beginning in February we hope to be able to bring just that type of resource. Whether it's audio versions of our articles, interviews with church leaders, or discussions with other believers about the relevant topics that challenge our faith, we want to bring it to you in a format that works with the flow of your daily life.

There's still so much more we want to do and so much more I want to tell you about! And I will in due course. In the meantime, thank you so much for two great years! The best is yet to come!

]]>https://joeyeploof.com/2016/12/14/whats-next/feed/0logo3joeyploofPolitician Assisted Suicidehttps://joeyeploof.com/2016/11/07/politician-assisted-suicide/
https://joeyeploof.com/2016/11/07/politician-assisted-suicide/#respondMon, 07 Nov 2016 16:40:08 +0000http://joeyeploof.com/?p=620]]>I hate social media. I say that with full knowledge that it’s likely that the way this article found your eyeballs was through Facebook or Twitter. In this election season, however, it feels like all I see are my family and friends reposting “news” stories from sites no one ever heard of, or getting into the internet version of a shouting match. Good christian people, people I love and respect, are beclowning themselves all over the internet for what have to be two of the most abominable people to ever run for president. These are objectively terrible people. Not one of us wouldn’t break out into a cold sweat upon realizing we had left our young child or our wallet alone with them for a second. Yet, otherwise intelligent and morally respectable people have gone all in for one of these candidates. They have rationalized away the misuse of a moral responsibility, their vote, over The Supreme Court, control of one or both houses of Congress, some contrived comparison to your favorite biblical character, or that apparently if the other one is elected the country will immediately burst into flames. We’re capable of being more serious than this. This is an epic failure of discernment in our ranks, friends.

Next have come the admonishments from many that, “if you don’t vote don’t complain because you had a chance to do something and you didn’t.” Pardon me for my lack of tact but that’s just stupid on it’s face. Have you ever stopped to consider that the right to speak is not remotely tied to the responsibility to vote? Also, refusing to vote in protest can be as powerful a statement as voting. The choices are awful this season and who could blame you if you couldn’t stomach any of them (including nearly all third parties and write-ins).

When you complain about the limitations of a two party system but go vote for the lesser of two evils rather than refuse to vote in protest or find a palatable third party option you are part of the problem. When you complain about the spinelessness of politicians only to sing from the mountain tops your candidates promise to only nominate the kind of judges you’d like him/ her to you are part of the problem. When you gloss over the abject moral failings of your guy/ girl while condemning the other one for theirs you are part of the problem. We’re the knife that politics is using to cut our own throats.

I finally realized, in this political season, that the problem with all of this isn’t dumb people making bad choices it’s two letters: ME. I have not said enough, but saying is only where it starts. I have not been generous enough with my time, my talents, or my finances. If I would put everything aside that I said in the first four hundred some odd words of this article and focus on doing everything I’m called to do rather than what others are not doing theworldwouldchange. The problem is it won’t change tomorrow. The whole world won’t change tomorrow, but we can be the instrument to change one person’s world today.

Jesus was tempted to go the easy way but He answered Satan directly that He would eschew the short term benefit being offered for the long term victory that was already promised. Every temptation offered short term gain for Jesus alone. To indulge in any one of them would have been a completely selfish act. When Satan told the hungry Jesus to turn the stones into bread he was appealing to a felt need. When he took Jesus to the top of the temple and bid him test God by throwing Himself down he was asking Jesus to forgo managing the tension between showing that He was God in the flesh and living the life that would restore all men to relationship with Him. When Satan took Jesus to a high place and showed him all the kingdoms he would give Him if he would but kneel to him once he was appealing to the very human desire to reach a goal without paying the cost required to walk the path to the goal. (See Matthew 4:1-11)

We fall to this third temptation ourselves when we put our hope for a better world in politicians. We hope that we can elect a man or woman who will, by persuasion or force, bring peace and justice to our world. Peace and justice have to be firmly rooted in our houses and God’s house a long time before they’ll ever find their way to the White House. This is not an easy path. It’s not a path that can be walked alone. To walk this path you have to be willing to join with other believers who want to reach people far from God. You have to be living your faith at home and attending and serving within the context of a good local church. A dead church won’t do. It matters little the forms of worship or the charm of the pastor, if you’re not going into the community in love and in prayer and bringing people into that house you’re in a dead church. Living things grow and thrive, they do things that change things.

Your house and God’s house. It’s these two houses that govern the world, to the extent that they’re thriving and active and true to God’s word. For this governance to extend beyond the walls of our homes and churches four years is not going to be enough, one lifetime may not be enough. We have to be willing to commit to a multigenerational focus on advancing His kingdom.

This is where evangelism and apologetics are crucial in the rhythm of christian living. We have to be able to effectively approach the most crucial questions that test our faith so that when those we disciple, especially our own children, face the greatest challenges in their lives they can lock arms with us to maintain their faith. We have to be willing to take up the cross of a thought life that entertains more than just sound bites and slogans to defend our faith. We have to be willing to offer to pray with a coworker that’s having a hard time, right there in the office, even though others may not approve. Jesus knew something we’ve long since forgotten, it’s not enough to do the right thing, you have to be seen doing the right thing, you have to do the right thing for people, you have to know why it’s the right thing, and you have to be willing to point to the One who made it possible for you to do it. This, not any candidate in any election, is the only hope for our country.

For more thoughts on the role of faith in governing our nation please click here for my article entitled, A Call For Theocracy.

]]>https://joeyeploof.com/2016/11/07/politician-assisted-suicide/feed/0suicide_king_by_llama84-d3549u9joeyploofDon’t Be Afraid To Be Afraid Of Godhttps://joeyeploof.com/2016/10/27/dont-be-afraid-to-be-afraid-of-god/
https://joeyeploof.com/2016/10/27/dont-be-afraid-to-be-afraid-of-god/#commentsThu, 27 Oct 2016 15:00:00 +0000http://joeyeploof.wordpress.com/?p=611]]>Fear. It’s one of the most powerful emotions humans are capable of experiencing. We’ve created a whole language around “fight or flight” and the body and mind’s reactions to fearsome events. As I’m writing this in late October we’re subjecting ourselves by the thousands to haunted houses that feature every type of fear inducing scenario imaginable.

In 1985 or 86 I was just five or six and I was playing hide and seek with a few of my cousins, all around the same age as me. We were at my great grandparent’s house and it had this enormous window unit air conditioner in the front room. This thing was so big it required two large wooden poles on the outside to hold it up. That’s where I decided to hide, because at that age I didn’t understand how hiding works, apparently. As soon as I got under there and got still I had this feeling like a thousand spiders were crawling all over my body. Naturally, I reacted with reason and tact and basically lost my mind. This quickly became a family affair and there were lots of questions. At least that’s now I remember it, and it’s why my breath catches in my throat whenever i see the smallest spider. It’s also why, for years, I have a consistently recurring nightmare about having a Tarantula in my house so big that it fills up the entire living room. I always awake as it’s about to squeeze its entire head through the door to kill me where I stand. That’s a proper phobia.

So what about fearing God? Does it make sense to apply any of our experiences of fear in this natural world to the God of this world? Surely not. Whenever the Bible says to fear God we can just substitute words or phrases like “revere”, “respect”, or “stand in awe”, right? I think a lot of the time that is maybe even the most faithful way to interpret those scriptures, but try a thought experiment with me, if you will, and every time you read the word fear in the following verses just read it as, well, fear and let’s think together about the implications.

Let’s begin in the Old Testament where God was at His most stereo-typically frightful.

“When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance and said to Moses, ‘Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.’ Moses said to the people, ‘Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.’” Exodus 20:18-20 NIV

Moses and God’s people had come out of Egypt and were camping near a mountain called Sinai when God spoke to Moses and told him to speak to the people. His words were incredibly affirming to them, “Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.” (Exodus 19:5&6). And the people agreed that they would do all God asked. Sounds like wins all around. It’s at this point that God reveals His presence powerfully atop the mountain. He tells Moses that no one but him is to approach, that for anyone else even to touch the foot of the mountain would mean death. When the people see fire and lightning emanating from the thick darkness at the top of the mountain they were very afraid.

God had just told them, through Moses, what He’d make of them if they obeyed him, why be afraid? If i had to guess, and I do because it’s not explicitly stated here, I’d guess that being that close to the presence of God triggered doubts in their minds about the promise they had just made to Him. They didn’t promise to do their best and see how it works out they promised to obey Him fully. Now they’re seeing the effects God has when He just shows up, what would happen when He confronted promise breakers? Maybe some of them were coming to realize something I have realized in my own life, that promise to obey is broken before I’m done making it.

Despite the display and the fear it induced the people soon became comfortable in their relationship with God. It’s the way it goes sometimes that you get away with something small (or think you have) and so you do it again, because so far there’s no consequence, then the third time maybe you take it a little farther than you did before, and again the next time. Before long you’re getting fired from a job, or losing a house, or a marriage because you went from being surprised at no consequence to believing there never would be one. God’s people were no different in those days. It wasn’t long after the day they were trembling in fear at the foot of Mount Sinai that they were breaking the first two commandments God had given them right there.

So exasperated was Moses at finding the people worshiping the golden calf that he threw down the tablets that God had written upon with His own finger the Commandments that were the law of His covenant. Moses says he spent another forty days and nights fasting and praying to God on his face in His presence that He would not destroy the people for their disobedience. Then, in one of the most underrated second chance stories in history God tells Moses if he’ll carve out two more tablets He’ll rewrite the Commandments on them! What!? Not only is God willing to hold back His holy judgement but He’ll redo work that man destroyed!? Then He says to His people,

“And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good? To the Lord your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it. Yet the Lord set his affection on your ancestors and loved them, and he chose you, their descendants, above all the nations—as it is today.” Deuteronomy 10:12-15 NIV

I’m not a bible scholar, nor a scholar of any kind, but it sounds to me like the Lord is warning His people in a very fatherly way that second chances aren’t guaranteed and they shouldn’t take this one for granted.

But what about Jesus? He came to bring us all lollipops and sunshine, right? His life and ministry was all about love and peace, wasn’t it? Seriously, don’t some of us go about our days thinking that He came to this earth to win a victory for us so that we could have our “best life now”? Interestingly I don’t think that’s what Jesus had in mind for even His closest followers. In the book of Matthew chapter ten we are told of a moment in Jesus’ ministry where He would begin to delegate some of His power and authority to His disciples. They were being given authority to drive out demons and heal the sick, and Jesus told them that as they went about using these powers in His name that they were to tell the people, “The kingdom of heaven has come near.” (v.7). The local rulers wouldn’t like this, He told them, it would be seen as a threat to their power over the people. They would be jailed and beaten, Jesus told them, but he admonished them with this warning,

“Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” Matthew 10:28

Jesus is warning His closest followers that there is nothing men can do to them for obeying God on this earth that can be worse than God’s judgement after this life for disobedience. This one verse of scripture is also the best biblical evidence in my opinion for the existence of a real physical Hell, because Jesus was God and Jesus talked about it like it was a real place.

Christians are often criticized, and rightfully so, for using Hell to scare people into making a decision about Jesus, but it’s worth noting that Jesus wanted His very closest followers to have a healthy fear of Hell. And maybe this is the key to the whole thing. Jesus wasn’t sending His messengers out to the world with a “Turn or Burn” message on His behalf, but He was telling them that they should keep that message in their heart. They should remember that whatever punishment or persecution they might receive in the here and now for telling the truth about God’s son, it would be far less that the righteous justice of God apart from Him.

And so Jesus said to Nicodemus, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”(John 3:16 NIV) The automatic implication is that whoever does not believe in Him shall perish and not have eternal life. Are these not fear inducing concepts? They seem to be given to us as believers much more frequently and much more stridently than to unbelievers. Why?

The fire of Hell is a fire that should burn in the belly of the believer impelling them to seek the lost and tell them about Jesus. The fear of a Hell that we’ve escaped is why we can not be silent in a world that would use all kinds of subtle and forthright means to shame or punish us into silence.

Don’t be afraid to be afraid of God! It’s an integral part of His plan. Have a healthy fear, borne of understanding that Jesus didn’t come just to win a victory for you so that you could experience His blessings on your life, He came to win THE victory for God so that we all could live in restored relationship with Him.

And if you don’t already know Jesus as your savior it’s so simple to avoid this fearsome Hell and to have a relationship with this awesome God. It’s simple but it’s not easy. You must do only three things, turn from your sinful ways, acknowledge that Jesus is the son of God and that He died and rose again for the redemption of your sins, follow Him for the rest of your life. Know that in doing these things there is the Holy Spirit of God that assists you always and leads you on the right path through the scriptures. He’s the one that brought you to this moment where you’re even now choosing to follow Him. Find a good church where people will come alongside you and hold your head up through the inevitable struggles, and come back here and tell us your story so that we can pray for and with you as you go along your way.

]]>https://joeyeploof.com/2016/10/27/dont-be-afraid-to-be-afraid-of-god/feed/3creation_of_the_sun_and_moon_face_detailjoeyploofAfter Lifehttps://joeyeploof.com/2016/10/13/after-life/
https://joeyeploof.com/2016/10/13/after-life/#commentsThu, 13 Oct 2016 15:35:13 +0000http://joeyeploof.com/?p=604]]>From the most ancient times we have suspected that there is more to life than just the life we know here. The abundance of ideas of what the life after this life might look like is strong evidence that it is real but it doesn’t tell us what it will be. Does everyone go to the same place? If there are separate places for good and bad people how do I avoid one and get into the other? What will it be like there?

I can’t pretend not to have already drawn some conclusions on these questions. I believe in Jesus and therefore I believe in His Word, the Bible, so I believe what it says is true. The discussion about the afterlife is surprisingly controversial even among people who go to the same church. It’s logical to think that what you believe about the afterlife will affect where you go in the afterlife. This ought to cause us, me included, to be much more serious in considering where we’re going and how we get there.

Do I want Heaven for what it is or am I only trying to avoid Hell? I don’t always know. Is it fear or faith that’s animating my hope for a life after this life? Some think that the fear of Hell and all of its supposed torments should be out of bounds for drawing people far from God to a relationship with Him, and I agree in a lot of ways. Life in Christ is not a process of elimination, it has to be an affirmative choice. Yet, if Hell is real and the Bible is true, and that is precisely where people far from God are going when they die, how can it go unmentioned?

On the other hand, if I’m being honest, Heaven doesn’t always seem that awesome. May I just say that the thought of singing the same song over and over for eternity just doesn’t move me (see Revelation 4:8-11). Fortunately, I’ve come to learn that that’s not all the Bible says about heaven. In that same Chapter of Revelation and in many other places the Bible clearly says that we will eat and drink, build houses, tend vineyards, and have relationships with each other. In these ways I think that life in Heaven will be a lot like life on Earth except whereas here on Earth we’re challenged to do everything “as unto the Lord” there we will be unleashed to worship in perfect fellowship so we won’t be able to help but enjoy serving the Lord in all we do. Perhaps one of the reasons that Heaven is supposed to be unfathomable to us is because those relationships will be so filled with perfect worship and perfect understanding yet we struggle so to have even acceptable levels of those things here and now.

We, in fact, know Heaven will be a lot like Earth because it will be Earth!

Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. Revelation 21:1 (NIV)

And we’ll do things we did here on Earth…

They will build houses and dwell in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit. Isaiah 65:21 (NIV)

But we’ll do them in a new way with new motives. Because sin will have been removed from our hearts and spirits; the effects of the fall will also be removed. It will be, once again, like it was in Eden. In the Garden Adam and Eve could walk hand in hand with their Lord without shame or fear, and they could walk hand in hand with each other in perfect relationship (See Genesis 2:24-25). Yet, it’s not as if they had no responsibilities. Adam was put there to tend and work the Garden (v. 15) and Eve was put there to be a necessary helper (v. 21-23). Our work will be the same. It might seem strange to some to go to the first few chapters of the Bible to interpret the last several. I would say, however, that the whole of the Bible, after Genesis 3:1, is the history of a centuries long restoration of mankind back to the original state of Adam and Eve.

Over and above any controversy or disagreement we are blessed to have access to the one who created Heaven and Earth through His Word and if we’re experiencing life in Christ day by day we have the assurance that whatever Heaven will be we will be there, our task now is to help bring as many along with us as we can.

But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,”that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. Romans 10:8-10 (NIV)

]]>https://joeyeploof.com/2016/10/13/after-life/feed/119765694430_66f68627bb_bjoeyploofThe Sound and The Fury: My Thoughts on Different Forms of Worshiphttps://joeyeploof.com/2016/09/14/the-sound-and-the-fury-my-thoughts-on-different-forms-of-worship/
https://joeyeploof.com/2016/09/14/the-sound-and-the-fury-my-thoughts-on-different-forms-of-worship/#commentsWed, 14 Sep 2016 10:00:55 +0000http://joeyeploof.com/?p=595]]>I grew up going to pretty traditional Baptist and Methodist churches. Worship consisted of red hymnals, a choir (sometimes), and a piano. On special occasions we might have what was colloquially called simply a “Singin’” where groups would come from all over and we would have a time of worship focused exclusively on music. In the regular Sunday worship skill and talent were not always highly prized unless you were lucky enough to have a pastor who had some talent of his own. The singin’s, however, brought in men and women who knew how to play and more than anything how to harmonize. Either way, though, it was easy to feel like you were being transported not only into the presence of God but simultaneously into the 1940s or 50s.

It was all good to me, though, for a couple of reason. First, I didn’t know any better. When I did experience what would sometimes be referred to as more “charismatic” worship I was like a deer in the headlights because it was usually accompanied by things like speaking in tongues and being slain in the spirit. So, all in all a win for diversity of styles I guess… Secondly, though, I really did feel the Holy Spirit move in those times of worship. Have you ever read the words to some of those old hymns? They’re so deep and pregnant with meaning and emotion. There was a time when Amazing Grace was the Oceans of its day. Now it’s played so often and in so many different contexts that we don’t even hear the words anymore. It’s just holy elevator music.

It is a tragedy of modern worship, in my opinion, that we look back with such scorn at music we refuse to really let work it’s way into our hearts. This does, admittedly, have a lot to do with the delivery, the aforementioned lack of focus on talent and skill, but I think it also has a lot to do with a thoughtless and disrespectful attitude toward the past. I think that we would do well within the body of the church, even those that practice a very progressive style of worship, to consider the lyrics if not the songs themselves in our times of private worship if nothing else. Consider with me, briefly, the lyrics of the fourth verse of Amazing Grace:

“The Lord has promised good to me,

His Word my hope secures;

He will my shield and portion be

As long as life endures”

Is not a large measure of the Gospel contained within those four little lines? If not the Gospel itself then at least the description of the change to a man’s or woman’s destiny is described therein. It is these things because it was written by such a man, John Newton. If you’ve seen the movie by the same title as the song you’ll have some inkling of what the power of God in his life brought about in the world. His conversion was the first tiny domino that fell in a long process toward the abolition of the Slave trade in England in 1788. The song itself is his autobiography set to music.

Next consider with me a verse from one of my personal favorite hymns, The Battle Hymn of the Republic:

“He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never sound retreat;

He is sifting out the hearts of men before His judgment seat;

Oh be swift, my soul, to answer Him! Be jubilant, my feet!

Our God is marching on.”

The song starts with a positively apocalyptic view of the conflict it was written for, the US Civil War, but this third verse is as apt a description of how every Christian ought to think about their response to God’s calling on their life as it is that of the northern soldier of the time. In the final verse it contains the words, “As He died to make men holy let us die to make men free…” Again, I’m convicted of my place in His plan of salvation for others, I’m not just hearing a song written for some long past war I’m hearing a song that draws my heart to submission and worship.

Finally I’d like to share with you a verse from my absolute favorite hymn, it’s one I go back to often, A Mighty Fortress is Our God:

“And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us,

We will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us:

The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him;

His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure,

One little word shall fell him.”

This one was written by the great father of the reformation himself, Martin Luther. He struggled with his faith mightily for years within the Catholic Church until he found his calling to reform it. The song is line after line of reassurance of our place in God’s kingdom and under his protection. In a previous line it says that no power on earth is the equal of the devil, yet here he’s saying that one little word will defeat him, because the word comes in a power not of this earth.

You might wonder what this has to do with you. Maybe nothing. Maybe like me you think that both traditional and modern forms of worship have their place and are equally efficacious, if so I appreciate you reading up to this point and would ask that you share this message with friends and family. If you, on the other hand, are an exclusive proponent of one way or the other and spend any of your time poo pooing the one you’re not a fan of I want to tell you this, you are in some way claiming to own something that by rights belongs to God alone and that’s the movement of His Holy Spirit. You pronounce death or disunity on the houses of your brothers and sister over what? Music? Tempo and volume and talent and set lists? I have word for you from the Lord, brothers and sisters, it’s not all about you. It’s not your cup of tea, you say, fine. I grew up in very traditional churches and now my family and I attend a church with a much more progressive style of worship. We offer earplugs at the door to those who can’t handle the volume. I have felt the swell of emotion in both. I have been moved by words and the music in both places.

When the Old Paths sing Beulah Land in that four part harmony I swoon. I am kind of homesick for a country to which I’ve never been before. I also hope that just one time in heaven the angels around the throne of God strike their harps and the sound of an amplified electric guitar comes out. I hope they sing Good, Good Father AND He Walks With Me (even though that’s probably my least favorite hymn I assume the angel will do it right).

Except for the part about it not being all about you this is really all just one man’s opinion about the state of worship as I’ve experienced it. Take it as you will and as I intend it, in love. God Bless.

]]>https://joeyeploof.com/2016/09/14/the-sound-and-the-fury-my-thoughts-on-different-forms-of-worship/feed/3when-they-began-to-worship-prophetic-art-paintingjoeyploofWho Moved My Mountain?https://joeyeploof.com/2016/09/07/who-moved-my-mountain/
https://joeyeploof.com/2016/09/07/who-moved-my-mountain/#commentsWed, 07 Sep 2016 10:00:49 +0000http://joeyeploof.com/?p=584]]>Faith is a middle step between belief and knowledge, but that’s not all it is. Faith makes things happen, or so the Bible would seem to indicate. In Luke chapter five four men brought their paralyzed friend to Jesus and when they could not get to Him directly because of the crowds they climbed on the roof of the house He was in, tore a hole in the roof, and lowered their friend down to Him. It says in verse twenty that when Jesus saw their faith He said, “friend, your sins are forgiven” and soon after healed the man as well.

In Matthew chapter 17 a demon-possessed boy is brought first to the disciples and, when they could not cast out the demons, to Jesus. In exasperation at the lack of faith among His closest followers (referring to them as “You unbelieving and perverse generation” and asking “How long shall I put up with you?”) He rebuked the demon and it came out in that moment. When His disciples asked why they could not do what He had done He didn’t say what you might think, “I am God and you are not”. That would have let them off the hook. What He did say is that they didn’t have enough faith, then in verse twenty He gives us the most famous description of the power of faith ever given, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

These passages and a few others taken by themselves might lead some to think of faith as a force. Some might think of it as a kind of superpower.

“I ate a radioactive mustard seed and now I have… FAITH!!!”

This kind of thinking can, if we’re not careful, lead us to think we have a measure of power that is not directly connected to a relationship with God. This results in errant teachings like those of the Word-Faith movement. Word-Faith teachers would have you believe that your faith in Christ gives you access to the power to alter your circumstances for the better by speaking over your circumstances passages in the Bible that hold promises and provisions for the believer. It is closely related to what is commonly referred to as the Prosperity Gospel and would have you believe that those promises and provisions hold for the Christian only health and wealth. These Prosperity preachers believe, not only, that you have this power of faith within you, but some disconnect it from direct relationship to God by making you equal to God in this power. Kenneth Copeland, one of the more famous Prosperity preachers, says,

“You’re all God. You don’t have a God living in you; you are one!… When I read in the Bible where God tells Moses, ‘I AM,’ I say, ‘Yah, I am too!”

And, sure, it sounds like I’m calling Mr. Copeland out a bit here, but what I’m really trying to do is illustrate the dangers of going too far down the road of thinking of faith as a force. As with so many sinful tendencies within our nature we want to take what is God’s and claim it as our own. The mountain moves and we look around to see who’s watching, hoping they’ll think we did it and be amazed.

To get back where we started, if faith is a step in the process of knowing then I would propose that the faith that moves the mountain when I speak to it is not the a force that is contained in the words I say. It is a belief that the God on whom I’ve relied, who I’ve seen perform miracles in and through me time and again, the God who would not be God without the power in Himself to move the mountain, the God who brought me to the place and time of speaking to the mountain is the one who moves it. Never me, always Him. He is I AM, I am not.

]]>https://joeyeploof.com/2016/09/07/who-moved-my-mountain/feed/163507700joeyploofFearfully Wonderful: An Open Letter to My Sonhttps://joeyeploof.com/2016/08/25/fearfully-wonderful-an-open-letter-to-my-son/
https://joeyeploof.com/2016/08/25/fearfully-wonderful-an-open-letter-to-my-son/#respondThu, 25 Aug 2016 15:07:46 +0000http://joeyeploof.wordpress.com/?p=578]]>You asked God, last night in our prayer time, to take away the hate and lies from your mind. The word hate is still echoing in my mind. You’re six. Are there already things you hate about yourself?

When we talked about it you flicked your little cheek, making it jiggle ever so slightly, and said “this daddy, this isn’t cool”.

I know I’m biased, but I can’t fathom how you could be anything but confident about who you are. You are just the way God made you to be for this time in your life. You are open and kind in ways that I am not. You have a heart much bigger than mine and you’re the wisest six year old I’ve ever known. Sometimes I think that God put me in this world just to bring you into this world, because there is no doubt you are leaving a lasting impression on your world even now.

The Lord brought you to himself two years ago now already! You were four and woke up before your mother and I to go in private and give your heart to Him. All of this blows mine and your mother’s minds. We’re grateful to have been blessed with you.

And yet, Satan has found a way to worm his way into your mind and tell you you’re not good enough.

I know you and your mom talked a lot about who God says you are and you asked her to write out Psalm 139:14 on your little chalk board, but I want to help you bury the meaning of those words down deep in your heart by telling you what it really means.

To say that you are “fearfully and wonderfully made” is not just saying that God made you as if it was an after thought. You were made by such power that any other being in the universe would rightfully tremble to witness your “becoming” in the mind of God. And you are still becoming what God ultimately has in his heart for you. You have three callings on your life right now, to be kind to others, to listen and learn from mommy and daddy, and to tell people about Jesus. You’re already doing an incredible job at all three for your age.

The wonder of your life is that you belong to the God who made you by such fearsome power. I am your earthly father and I love with a love I can not understand or contain, but He is your Heavenly Father and He loves you with a love that YOU can not understand or contain!

You know your calling, you have a Holy Spirit guided path for your life, your love of the Lord is obvious to everyone in your world, you are just exactly what and where God wants you to be at this moment, no matter what moment in your life you’re reading this.